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Will iPadOS 18 work on iPad 6th Generation?

My iPad 6th gen can support ios 17 but I’m not sure if it can support ios 18. I don’t really want to buy a new iPad because it works perfectly fine and it’s in good condition. However, if Apple doesn’t support ios 18 for 6th gen, is it still usable if I don’t update IOS?


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPad (6th generation)

Posted on Jul 9, 2024 1:17 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 1, 2024 7:45 PM

No the iPad 6th gen with not be support IOS 18 only iPad 7th gen or later will be supported

24 replies

Sep 26, 2024 5:27 PM in response to LotusPilot

Definitely will go for a minimum of 256. Reading your article confused about versions. Mine is Ver 6 but I see later models with versions 4 & 5 then there re also versions 9.. 14.

Not sure if purchasing for AI compatibility is important, quality of my screen on my ver 6 is more than adequate so don’t see a need for higher quality..

Too many choices….. but thanks for your advice

Oct 6, 2024 4:00 PM in response to cx500d

cx500d wrote:

Why? iPad 6 gen has the same processor as IPad 7 gen.


The 6th-generation iPad has an Apple A10 Fusion processor and 2 GB of RAM.

The 7th-generation iPad has an Apple A10 Fusion processor and 3 GB of RAM.


I have not done a comprehensive check of the MacTracker database, but it looks like all of the iPads that can run iPadOS 18 have at least 3 GB of RAM – with some having as much as 16 GB.

Oct 11, 2024 2:52 AM in response to TimpossibleOne

TimpossibleOne wrote:

My iPad 6th gen has the option to run the public beta for iOS 18 and it has the same A10 Fusion chip as the iPad 7th gen, which is among the listed devices to get iOS 18, so why isn't the 6th gen iPad getting it?


Apple is not here, but a likely answer is simply that the 6th-generation iPad does not have enough RAM.


The 6th- and 7th-generation iPads may both have Apple A10 Fusion processors, but the 7th-generation iPad has 3 GB of RAM, and the 6th-generation one has only 2 GB of RAM. I have not done an exhaustive scan of MacTracker, but I believe that every iPhone and iPad that is compatible with production versions of iOS / iPadOS 18 has at least 3 GB of RAM. Some iPhones have as much as 8 GB of RAM, and some iPad Pros have as much as 16 GB.


Apple may have decided that iOS / iPadOS 18 would not run well in 2 GB of RAM – or that it was not worth limiting the features available to newer iPhones & iPads in order to support old devices with only 2 GB of RAM.


In any event, when Apple introduced the 6th-generation iPad in March 2018, it ran iOS 11.3. Since you can update that iPad to iPadOS 17, that means that Apple supported it with six major version updates.

Oct 19, 2024 7:40 AM in response to Jvt1974

Jvt1974 wrote:

Does this mean I’ll have to replace my 6th gen iPad if I want to keep using what’s on it?


For the most part, no.


Sometimes app vendors force you to upgrade to a new app, or a new version, to keep using a particular service at all. I've had that happen on a few occasions. If they do that, and the new app or new version is incompatible with your device, you'd be locked out of it.


For the most part, you can just keep using what you have. You just won't get the new features in the new version of iOS, or the ability to run new apps that require that version.


Eventually, Web standards may change enough that having an old version of Safari becomes an issue – but that typically would be several years down the road.

Will iPadOS 18 work on iPad 6th Generation?

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